


Surprises

by SleeplessNights1



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 12:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15640767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleeplessNights1/pseuds/SleeplessNights1
Summary: Tony was used to surprises, didn’t like them too much given that all his experiences proved that they always ended terribly, but use to them nonetheless. You could say Tony was prepared for any surprise that the universe could throw at him. That was until a completely different universe decided to step up to the plate, and started throwing surprise curveballs.





	Surprises

**Author's Note:**

> This is not my first fan fiction, but it is the first time in a very long time that I have posted anything. This story is just me giving the world the much needed “Dad Tony” fic. I will say here, this is NOT a bashing Steve Rogers fic, because I love him too. This will at some point become a Ironstrange fic. Rating will change as the story progresses, but for now, please enjoy Dad!Tony.

* * *

     Tony was used to surprises, didn’t like them too much given that all his experiences proved that they always ended terribly, but use to them nonetheless. Being kidnapped. Escaping. Obie. Becoming Iron Man. All huge surprises. Becoming Iron Man was just the beginning of a never-ending onslaught.  
When the Avengers formed, Tony let his walls lower. These people were the family he didn’t think he deserved, let alone would ever have. Steve had been the largest surprise at the time. An all-encompassing, beautiful, passionate surprise that left Tony breathless and his heart full.  
     Looking back, the brunette couldn’t help but to laugh. Of course, it would have never lasted. The surprises in Tony’s life never ended well. So, when the Accords happened and Siberia, Tony wasn’t shocked. When Steve chose Barnes over him, it hurt worse than any shield to the chest.  
     After that Tony spent all his time refusing to let anything sneak up on him. Thanos. Peter. Strange. In the back of his mind, the genius told himself that he saw this all coming. Strange’s last words told him that they would win this war, and when everyone reappeared, Tony smiled but inside he felt numb.  
     When Pepper broke it off for the second time, he knew that was the end of it. He cried, but he didn’t really feel it. When Harley’s mom passed away, Tony had wrapped him in his arms and let the boy cry and bit his tongue as the words “Everyone dies one day, kid” tried to bubble up his throat. Suddenly, Tony had two sons, but he’d expected it.  
When he fell into bed with Stephen, the brunette had been expecting it since Titan, though if he were being honest to himself, he was a little bit taken aback by how consistent it seemed to stay over the years, but he was sure at some point it was going to blow up in his face. It was inevitable.  
     So yeah, you could say Tony was prepared for any surprise that the universe could throw at him. That was until a completely different universe decided to step up to the plate, and started throwing surprise curveballs.  
Tony was in his workshop going over some upgrades on the spidey-suit, when the energy in the room crackled and a rushing sound came from behind him as a portal ripped open in thin air. The billionaire continued his examination of the suit’s core structure, slightly miffed at the total disregard for his personal space.  
     “Wizards.” He huffed under his breath before speaking. “If you wanted a quickie, I would have appreciated a text. A smoke signal at least.”  
     The sharp cry of a baby was not the answer he had expected.  
     Tony turned slowly, the suit slipping from his fingers. The first thing he noticed was that the portal shimmered a deep royal purple rather than the iridescent orange he was so accustomed to. The next thing he noticed was the short, petite woman standing in front of it.  
     She was close to Tony’s height, her body wrapped in a complicated tunic that the genius new all too well. Her face was ashen and she had crow’s feet starting to form at the corners of sparkling grey eyes. What was probably once perfectly curled hair hung loose and haphazardly on her shoulders with two grey streaks at her temples. Tony let his eyes take her in until his eyes landed on a barely-there chest, where a blue bundle squirmed beneath.  
He stood there, mouth hanging open, when she stepped away from the portal. Brown eyes scanned the hands holding the bundle protectively. Spider webs of pale scars weaved across them and down delicate, boney fingers; feminine replicas of hands that Tony knew intimately. It was those hands and a voice so familiar with a cadence and perfect diction, that if it were pitched a few octaves lower, would have belonged to a one Dr. Stephen Strange, that brought and dropped the largest surprise to ever exist into Tony’s arms.  
     “Her name is Maria. Maria Beverly Stark.”  
The bundle in his arms squirmed and large doe eyes blinked open. Pale grey orbs met chocolate brown and instantly, Tony knew he would die for this tiny child.  
     Thanos had come to their universe, just as he had Tony’s. And just like their Stephen had, Stephanie Strange had scoured through every possible scenario. However, unlike them, there was no scenario in which they won. Thanos would kill them all and decimate their planet. It was with this knowledge that Stephanie and her Tony decided they would find the universe where their daughter could live and thrive.  
     “Wait!” Tony exclaimed as the woman turned and started back for the purple portal. Heavy feet led him to her side, the now sleeping baby pressed tight to his chest. “Why won’t you stay?”  
Stephanie turned watering eyes to him and smiled a sad smile. Her eyes dipped down to her slumbering baby and leaned to press a kiss to her black tuft of hair. Her eyes settled back on Tony and she pressed a trembling hand to his cheek. With a sure-steady voice, she said, “I won’t let him die alone.”  
     Tony’s throat seized as the air escaped his lungs and his chest tighten. He watched helplessly as Stephanie walked back through the portal and it snap shut behind her.

     It wasn’t difficult to get away with; Tony appearing with a practically new born child. The media had speculated that he had hundreds of little Tony’s running around on every continent and possibly other galaxies, if Buzzfeed was to be believed. No one questioned how a baby girl had come into Tony’s possession. A baby girl with Tony’s complexion and nose and hair and mother’s name. Everyone except Pepper.  
     “Just a fling huh?” The CEO cocked a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, her arms crossed tight across her chest; her hip leaning against the desk.  
Tony leaned back in the leather chair, his attention completely on his sleeping daughter. She curled her body into him, her face barely missing the housing unit installed in his chest. Her nose crinkled as she dreamed, and her tiny hand made a fist in his shirt.  
     “Yup.” Tony said, making an exaggerated pop at the end of the word. He buried his face into the baby’s neck, breathing in her delicate scent. He could feel the never ending tightness in his lungs begin to untangle itself slowly. With every breath that Maria breathed in Tony breathed out.  
     “And I’m just supposed to believe that?” Some of the hostility that had been radiating from the redhead had evaporated, and instead Pepper looked at her friend, trying to analyze the obvious differences in him.  
     “Yup.”  
     Pepper let out a sigh, bringing one hand up to her nose and pinching the bridge. After a moment, she dropped her arms, her hands clenching and unclenching. “Tony…” She started, extending a hand to him and placing it on his shoulder. “This isn’t...this isn’t the same as you adopting already grown children. Do you think...I know you wanted kids, but…”  
     Tony looked up from Maria, his face gentle. “I know the responsibilities of raising a child. And she needs me. I’m going to be a great father.” The assuredness that slipped from his lips left Pepper stunned. For just a moment, she looked for the man she knew in front of her, but didn’t find him. Tony’s entire demeanor had changed. The anxiety that normally filled the room when Tony was around was absent. The numb look that his face carried on any given day had been replaced by a tranquil smile that he continued to direct at the little girl in his arms. For once, Tony didn’t look terrified and completely over the life he was handed. Pepper felt her chest tighten and the tears prickle at the corner of her life.  
     “Oh Pep. Don’t do that-“  
          “I’m not doing anything -“  
     “Crying doesn’t suit you -“  
          “I am not crying-“  
     “You’ll mess up your makeup-“  
          “There’s obviously a lot of dust in this office, Tony-“  
     “And you know what happens when a CEO of a multimillion dollar company has to deal with when she comes out of a meeting looking like she’s been crying-“  
          “Obviously they would just say it was because I had to put up with you for an hour-“  
     “The internet will never let it go-“  
     “Tony.”  
     Tony halted, his mouth hanging open, the rest of the banter halted by the wobbliness of Pepper’s voice. The woman looked at him, her eyes rimmed in red.  
     “You are going to be an amazing father.” She said with pure certainty.  
     Tony cleared his throat, a stone settling high in it.  
     “Of course I am.” He said nonchalantly, but didn’t raise his eyes to meet hers. “I said I would be so...I will be.”  
     “Good.” Pepper smiled, leaning down and kissing him lightly on the cheek. “Now get out of my office.”  
     Tony grinned, standing up from the chair and adjusting Maria to lean against his shoulder. “You know this all use to be mine, still technically is.” He exclaimed even as he headed towards the door. “You can’t kick me out of what’s mine.” He laughed.  
     “I just did.” Pepper raised a playful eyebrow at him, and pointed to the exit. “Out.”  
     “Alright, alright.” Tony turned his face into Maria’s, and whispered lightly. “Your Aunt Pepper is bossy. But we love that about her.”  
     Pepper let out a breath as she watched Tony leave down the hallway, a smile on her face.

**Author's Note:**

> Name of the chapter comes from the song “Baby Mine” from Dumb  
> Please leave feedback, I would really appreciate it.


End file.
